Two young girls sustained minor injuries Saturday when a massive tree branch fell on a walkway adjacent to a playground in Lincoln Park in Jersey City, officials said.

The branch, which was 25 feet long and possibly weighed a ton, did not strike the girls directly, Hudson County Sheriff's spokesman Michael Makarski said.

Instead, the Jersey City girls, ages 9 and 11, were struck by outer foliage and smaller branches of the tree limb that fell near West Side Avenue and Bentley Avenue, Makarski said.

Both
children were taken to Jersey City Medical Center. The 11-year-old was treated
for minor injuries to her neck and back, while the 9-year-old girl was treated for
minor cuts to her arm and for a possible broken wrist, Makarski said.

The incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m.

Makarski said the branch is believed to have weighed between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds.

Hudson
County officials are investigating what caused the tree limb to fall, Makarski
said. The Department Public Works responded to the scene to cut up and remove the branch, he said.

Hudson County Freeholder Bill O'Dea said that following the incident he has requested that an inspection be done of all the other trees
near county park playgrounds and walkways.

O'Dea said he wants loose or
cracked branches that pose a hazard to be trimmed or
removed as soon as possible.

"It appears to be an
aftermath of Sandy issue," O'Dea said in an email.